St. Roch

Feast Day:
Roman Rite Calendar - 08/16

Patron Of:
against epidemics

Rocco
Rochus
Rock
Rollox
Roque
Memorial
16 August
Profile
French noble who early developed a sympathy for the poor and sick; reported to have been born with the image of a red cross on his breast. Orphaned at age 20, he gave his fortune to the poor, and became a mendicant pilgrim; may have been a Franciscan tertiary. While on pilgrimage Roch encountered an area afflicted with plague. He stayed to minister to the sick, and affected several miraculous cures, usually by making the sign of the cross over them, but contracted the plague himself. He walked into a forest to die, but was befriended by a dog. The dog fed him with food stolen from his master's table, and Roch eventually recovered.

When Roch returned to Montpellier, France, he was arrested for being a spy. He languished in jail for five years, never mentioning his noble connections, cared for by an angel until his death.
Born
1295 at Montpelier, France
Died
1327 at Montpelier or Angleria, France of natural causes
relics in Venice and Rome, Italy, and at Arles, France
Patronage
against cholera
against epidemics
against knee problems
against plague
against skin diseases
against skin rashes
Albaredo d'Adige, Italy
bachelors
Balzola, Italy
Barano, Italy
Carbonara Scrivia, Italy
Casalnoceto, Italy
Castropignano, Italy
Cereseto, Alessandria, Italy
Constantinople
diseased cattle
dogs
falsely accused people
invalids
Istanbul
Labico, Italy
Lillianes, Italy
Orsogna, Italy
Patricia, Italy
Pozzi, Italy
relief from pestilence
Rocca Priora, Italy
Subic Bay Freeport, Philippines
Tagbilaran, Philippines, diocese of
surgeons
tile makers

French noble who early developed a sympathy for the poor and sick; reported to have been born with the image of a red cross on his breast. Orphaned at age 20, he gave his fortune to the poor, and became a mendicant pilgrim; may have been a Franciscan tertiary. While on pilgrimage Roch encountered an area afflicted with plague. He stayed to minister to the sick, and affected several miraculous cures, usually by making the sign of the cross over them, but contracted the plague himself. He walked into a forest to die, but was befriended by a dog. The dog fed him with food stolen from his master’s table, and Roch eventually recovered.

When Roch returned to Montpellier, France, he was arrested for being a spy. He languished in jail for five years, never mentioning his noble connections, cared for by an angel until his death.

Born

* 1295 at Montpelier, France

Died

* 1327 at Montpelier or Angleria, France of natural causes
* relics in Venice and Rome, Italy, and at Arles, France

* angel
* bread
* dog
* pilgrim with staff, often displaying a plague sore on his leg
* pilgrim with a dog
* pilgrim with a dog licking the plague spot
* pilgrim with a dog carrying a loaf of bread in its mouth